— Editor's note: This is the second in a Sporting News series on Super Bowl dynasties. Wednesday: the Packers of the '60s.

In a sport known for its violent nature, the 1980s San Francisco 49ers made their mark using brains rather than brawn. They were led on the sideline by offensive mastermind Bill Walsh, who looked more like a college professor than an NFL coach, and on the field by a quarterback, Joe Montana, who delicately picked apart defenses with a short passing game that would become known as the West Coast offense as it spread across the league.

Indeed, finesse was the calling card of this offensive juggernaut that won it all after the 1981, 1984, 1988 and 1989 seasons and featured eventual Hall of Famers Montana, wide receiver Jerry Rice and backup quarterback Steve Young.

Walsh’s offensive genius (carried on by coordinator Mike Holmgren when Walsh retired following the 1988 season) helped the 49ers lead the NFC in total offense seven times during the ’80s, with Montana connecting often with receivers like Rice, John Taylor and Dwight Clark and making them household names.

What’s more, Walsh took advantage of multi-talented Roger Craig to redefine the running back position, using it just as much to move the ball through the air as on the ground. Because of these 49ers, the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield would become a prerequisite for any tailback looking to play in the NFL. Walsh’s players were expected to be versatile so they could help him exploit a thick offensive playbook he was constantly adding to.

The defense, which had Hall of Famers in safety Ronnie Lott and defensive end Fred Dean on its side of the ball, was also cerebral in its approach, scheming, stunting and always seeming to be one step ahead of opponents. For most of the decade it was coordinated by George Seifert, who took over for Walsh in 1989 as head coach and led the 49ers to their Super Bowl XXIV victory.

With a unique array of secondary talent like Lott, Eric Wright and Dwight Hicks, San Francisco finished third or better in scoring defense six times during the ’80s. Perhaps no team had a better combination of offense and defense; the 49ers finished third or better in scoring differential on seven occasions during the decade.

That scoring differential carried over to the 49ers’ undefeated Super Bowl record (4-0) in the ’80s. A 55-10 blowout of Denver in Super Bowl XXIV—still the largest margin of victory in the game’s history—helped put their average winning score for those games at 35-16.

Montana, one of the NFL’s greatest pressure performers at any position, won the game’s MVP on three of those nights, and for his career, he completed 83 of 122 passes (68.0 percent) for 1,142 yards and 11 touchdowns with no interceptions. His passer rating of 127.8 still stands as a Super Bowl record.